Penny Hydraulics makes light work of cellar loading

Penny Hydraulics installed LoadLift platform lifts into two cellar service vehicles for Adnams, a Southwold, UK-based brewer.

The platform lifts allow engineers to lift and load beer coolers and other equipment into vans without any manual lifting. The lifts also enable engineers to complete maintenance tasks on their own when they visit the brewer's pubs and hotels in East Anglia, where previously two engineers would have been required for each task.

"The coolers are on wheels and typically weigh around 100 kg on their own but if they are clogged up with ice they can weigh a lot more so we needed a device that could cope," said Kyle Horner, cellar services technical adviser at Adnams. "A platform lift seemed to be the best way to get the coolers in and out of the vehicles without any need for manual lifting."

The hydraulic platform lift can handle loads up to 500 kg. It is operated using a wander lead that allows the user to stand clear and with an all-round view of the vehicle and load. The platform extends to the ground for loading and unloading, before lifting into and resting on the vehicle floor. When out of use the platform can be folded up out of the way to leave an unobstructed load space.

As some of Adnams' cellars are below ground Penny Hydraulics also supplied and installed winches so the loads can be raised and lowered between the cellar and ground level.